Web Accessibility: Theory Or Practice? A User-Focussed Approach To Web Accessibility Guidelines

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Web Accessibility Theory Or Practice?A
User-Focussed Approach To Web Accessibility
Guidelines
http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/conference
s/e-access06/
About This Talk This brief talk reviews some of
the limitations of conventional approaches to
addressing Web accessibility and outlines a
user-centred approach which provides a context
for use of WAI guidelines.

• Brian Kelly
• UKOLN
• University of Bath
• Bath

Email B.Kelly_at_ukoln.ac.uk
UKOLN is supported by
This work is licensed under a Attribution-NonComme
rcial-ShareAlike 2.0 licence (but note caveat)
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About Me

• Brian Kelly
• UK Web Focus
• Web adviser to UK's higher further education
  community and cultural heritage sector
• Works for UKOLN a national centre of expertise
  in digital information management
• Based at the University of Bath
• Interests
• Emerging Web technologies e.g. Web 2.0
• Use of open standards
• Best practices
• Accessibility

Particular interest in engaging with council
sector to help maximise Web's potential for
museums, library archives
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Initial Web Accessibility Work

• During late 1990s and early 2000s
• Joint work with TechDis in advising HE/FE sector
  on best practices for Web accessibility
• Initially promotion of WAI WCAG guidelines
• Surveys of 160 UK HEI home pages carried out in
  Aug/Sept 2002 (repeated in 2004)
• Results showed low levels of compliance (and this
  without any manual testing). Manual testing shows
  that pages reported as accessible may be
  inaccessible.

Similar findings obtained in other surveys

• Implications
• UK Universities don't care about Web
  accessibility
• UK Universities don't know about Web
  accessibility
• The guidelines may be flawed

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W4A 2005 Reprise

• At W4A 2005 conference we presented Forcing
  Standardization or Accommodating Diversity
• The practical difficulties of using a standard
  to encapsulate design requirements to accommodate
  a diverse set of needs under a diverse set of
  circumstances
• The achievements and limitations of WCAG in
  supporting this
• The resultant difficulties (and absurdities) from
  legislation and policy that makes inappropriate
  reference to WCAG
• Using the example of the e-learning sector we
  pointed the way to a more holistic view of Web
  accessibility
• We received many positive comments on the ideas
  we presented

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Limitations of the WAI Model

• WAI approach has shortcomings
• WAI model relies on conformant Web sites,
  conformant authoring tools, conformant user
  agents
• and conformant users!
• WCAG guidelines have flaws ("must use W3C
  formats must use latest versions ")
• Has a Web-only view of the world
• What about other IT solutions?
• What about blended (real world) solutions?
• Has a belief in a single universal solution
• But isn't accessibility a very complex issue
• Is it reasonable to expect an ideal solution to
  be developed at the first attempt?

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Wider Concerns Over WCAG
http//alistapart.com/articles/tohellwithwcag2/

• Joe Clark's "To Hell With WCAG 2.0" Blog posting
  has led to much discussion on the (technical)
  merits of the WCAG approach to Web accessibility
  and limitations of WCAG 2.0

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The Importance of Context

• We argue Web accessibility is about supporting
  users achieve real world goals
• From Beyer Holzblatt (1998) the more you know
  about your target audience the more you can
  design to support them
• So the goal of universal accessibility has
  changed to supporting a defined set of users in
  the best possible way
• How can we use WCAG to achieve this?

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Holistic Approach

• Kelly, Phipps Swift developed a blended
  approach to e-learning accessibility
• This approach
• Focusses on the needs of the learner
• Requires accessible learning outcomes, not
  necessarily e-learning resources

Follow-up work awarded prize for Best Research
Paper at ALT-C 2005 E-learning conference
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Accessibility in Context

• A framework has been developed which places
  accessibility usability within a wider context
• The context
• A range of policies
• A compliance regime

Digital Library Programme
Context
Purpose
Sector
Funding
Resources

Research
Policies
Accessibility/Usability
Privacy
Finance
Standards

Compliance
External
Self-assessment
Penalties
Learning
Broken
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Articulating the Approach

• The "Tangram Metaphor" developed to avoid
  checklist / automated approach
• W3C model has limitations
• Jigsaw model implies single solution
• Tangram model seeks to avoid such problems

• This approach
• Encourages developers to think about a diversity
  of solutions
• Focus on 'pleasure' it provides to user

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Tangram Model

• Model allows us to
• Focuses on end solution rather than individual
  components
• Provided solutions tailored for end user
• Doesn't limit scope (can you do better than WAI
  AAA?)
• Make use of automated checking but ensures
  emphasis is on user satisfaction

• Guidelines/standards for/from
• WAI
• Usability
• Organisational
• Dyslexic
• Learning difficulties
• Legal
• Management (resources, )
• Interoperability
• Accessibility metadata
• Mobile Web

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Tangram Model Testability

• "WCAG 2.0 success criteria are written as
  testable statements " (nb. automated human
  testing ?)
• Issues
• What about WCAG principles that don't have
  defined success criteria (e.g. "content must be
  understandable")?
• What about 'baselines' context only known
  locally
• What about differing models or / definitions of
  'accessibility'?
• Note vendors of accessibility testing services
  will market WCAG tools e.g. see posting on BSI
  PAS 78
• Tangram model can be used within WCAG
• Distinguish between testable (ALT tags) and
  subjective (content understandable)
• Supports baselines

Testable
Baseline 1
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Does This Work For You?

• Danger
• WAI guidelines become an excuse not to do
  anything to fail to respond to users needs
  (Podcasting, Skype, Blogs, )
• Scenarios
• Podcasting or Skyping talks at conferences
• Great I was ill couldn't make it
• Bad No transcripts so breaks WCAG
• Blogs Wikis for your users
• Great Giving users a voice
• Bad Tools may produce bad HTML no semantic
  markup

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Conclusions

• To conclude
• WAI has provided a valuable starting point
• Need to develop a richer underlying model
• Need for Web accessibility to be placed in wider
  content
• Contextual approach tangram metaphor aim to
  help inform such developments
• Should the WAI approach be more open about
  contextualisation or should this be applied
  externally?
• There's a need to an evidence-based approach and
  less ideology

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Topics For Discussion

• Topic 1 The key focus for accessibility should
  be the user.
• Topic 2 Accessibility guidelines should be
  treated as guidelines, and not as infallible
  rules.
• Topic 3 Automated testing is fundamentally
  flawed as an approach to checking accessibility.
• Topic 4 Usability is as important as
  accessibility - and we mustn't ignore
  interoperability issues.
• Topic 5 Web 2.0 technologies can provide
  valuable user services.

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Questions

• Questions are welcome

Note resources cited in the talk are bookmarked
in the del.icio.us social bookmarking service
using the tag ''e-access06"